Witnessing a serious accident is never a pleasant experience, and one can be left feeling rather sombre and stunned.

Statistics have shown that on Australian roads, an average of four to five people are killed every day. If that isn’t unsettling enough, a great many more people are seriously injured and permanently incapacitated.

Volvo has stated that one in four crashes will be from a nasty T-bone collision where a vehicle will be struck at right angles from another vehicle. According to one system of accident classification used by civil engineers studying road safety and design, Tbone collisions are known as HA, JA, JC, KA, KB LA, LB, MA, MB, MC, MD, ME or MF crashes – in other words, there are many ways that T-bone crashes can occur! Though only one in four crashes is a side or T-bone collision, this type of accident is responsible for one out of every three road deaths. According to the latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), side-impact collisions are now responsible for over 31% of all automobile fatalities.

Most automobile manufacturers incorporate Side Impact Protection Systems (SIPS) into the structure of their vehicles. Volvo has been one of the leading innovators in this improved side impact, structural design system. To combat the T-bone collision, many well engineered cars, like Volvo, will incorporate a side-impact system that consists of specially designed structural members in the passenger cabin, reinforcement inside the doors and special side-impact airbags mounted along the outside edges of the front seats. We hope that helps answer the question ‘What is What is a T-Bone Collision?’!